Don't Take The Girl
by KathyBoPeep
Summary: I was asked to upload this one separately from my other story: Jane and Maura's Infinite Playlist. I made the best of a sad song, enjoy :)


**I was asked to upload this one separately as well. This can also be found in my other story, Jane and Maura's Infinite Playlist. Thanks :)**

Sirens wailed like screaming mothers in a fit of sorrow, drowning out all other conversation in the commons. Ambulances and fire trucks sped down the streets, taking sharp corners as they rushed to a scene. A crowd of crying patrons gathered around a police barricade staring at the accident in front of them. Traffic had stopped for miles but no one complained at all- they knew what had happened. It was an overcast day in Boston; symbolic in more ways than one.

Maura hated these types of scenes- the ones involving children. She hated to see such a little life cut short because of someone's carelessness. Children were a beacon of light and innocence. Maura secretly had a soft spot for kids since she had none of her own. She liked to consider herself a mother for their souls once they body was dead. She did not believe in an afterlife or anything similar- but sometimes she wished that she could, just for children.

Her blue prius came to a stop near the mass of people and she took a few breaths to settle herself. Given the nature of this accident, Maura became Dr. Isles and tried her best to suppress her personal feelings. She took her keys and phone and threw them into her field bag, making sure to pull out a pair of gloves before zipping the bag shut. She sat for a few more moments before exiting her vehicle and smoothing out her attire. With a quick hip check her door was closed and she was ready to go.

* * *

Jane Rizzoli sighed- she fucking hated it when she had to take kids. She knew that this one was gonna be messy. She wasn't even 50 feet away and she already saw blood- not a good sign. Well, it was never a good sign when she was here. Her boss knew that she had a strong stomach from her previous jobs so she generally took the messier cases. Finally she brushed through the crowd of solemn looking bystanders. Well, it was more out of habit than necessity- she really didn't take up much space in a crowd.

Well, this was fucking heartbreaking; the kid still had a pacifier in it's mouth. She walked under the tape (once again out of habit) and knelt over the body. She threw a glance to the right and saw the owner of the car hunched over, crying in the back of an ambulance. She could feel him begging to be taken instead of the boy. Too bad it didn't work that way. Most people who tried to claim they wish it had happened to them instead were secretly full of shit. They knew that they were safe, so they made themselves feel better by saying they'd much rather they die instead.

She grabbed the cold hand of the boy and rubbed her thumb lovingly over the scraped little knuckles. She need to coax him awake; kids didn't tend to enjoy being woken up. But, they were running out of time. Jane leaned over and placed a small kiss to his forehead, whispering soothing phrases. She really hated it when it was kids. She suddenly felt a burst of empathy from somewhere nearby and gasped. Very rarely did she feel someone truly sad and willing to help at a scene like this. She searched the crowd and saw what she assumed was the Medical Examiner. She was cute with her blonde hair and ladylike curves. It was times like this Jane wished she was alive.

* * *

Maura flinched when she saw just how young the boy was. Based upon height he seemed only about three years old. Her heart physically hurt to process such a sad scene. She knelt down beside the boy and took a moment to silently tell him she was there for him. The lack of parents at this crime scene was unsettling at best. With a quick once-over she predetermined that not much could be done here. Dr. Isles motioned towards her crew that the body could be moved. Once everyone had cleared the way, and the only two people left was her and the boy, Maura said a few words of peace to him.

"I know it might have been scary baby boy, but I'll make sure that you're well taken care of. No one is gonna hurt you okay sweet thing? If no one ever loved you- just know that I do, okay? I love you and I'm sorry to see you go but I hope wherever you go is better than this horrible place. You could have done so many things with your life, and I only hope that you reach your full potential somewhere." Maura used her wrist to dab at her watery eyes and blew a sweet kiss at the little body in the street. With a heavy heart, she stood up and tried to calm her nerves before speaking to the crew who was watching her carefully. She really didn't care if they thought she was crazy; everyone else already whispered about her whenever she walked by.

"Please take him back to the morgue and tell Dr. Pike that I will take care of this one myself" Maura said with a curt nod. Before anyone could answer, she had turned on her heel and was on her way back to her car.

* * *

Jane wiped a stray tear from her cheek angrily. She wasn't supposed to get involved with these cases so personally but the words the woman had said just were so pure and sweet. Never had Jane heard someone talk to a corpse so tender and looked down at the boy and said his name in a final attempt to rouse him.

"Lucas, darling. Come on, it's time to go!" Jane tried her best to sound joyful. Kids picked up on her voice more than anything else. So, she needed to make it sound like what was about to happen was more exciting than fucking terrifying. His little eyes opened and he looked around. He didn't recognize his surroundings and started to cry. He reached his arms out towards Jane, who picked him up and out of his physical body and settled him onto her hip. The little blonde curls brushed Jane's chin as the little boy buried himself into her. She rocked him back and forth, making her way out of the scene and back towards the alleyway.

He looked at her with big scared blue eyes and a bruised face. Jane lovingly kissed his nose and nuzzled him. They were almost to the shop and she wanted to keep him calm. If he started to fuss, Jane's headache would come back. Who knew that the dead could get headaches?

Finally, after a silent 5 minutes, Jane finally walked up to the storefront. It was an abandoned store that was boarded up. It looked like it hadn't seen a patron since the early 90's which could very well have been true. Jane shifted the boy slightly and knocked on the glass in front- signalling that she was coming in with the boy. Normally she just waltzed right in but with children they tried to keep all things of a grim nature of of their line of vision.

She heard a knock back and walked right through the glass, giggling as the little boy's eyes widened in excitement. She set him down next to Jo Friday- the resident little dog at their shop. Jo sniffed at the boy and deemed him fit to play with, soon barking and licking the child's face.

Jane looked over at her boss and nodded.

"It was gruesome, boss. I don't know if I can do anymore today okay? I'll be back tomorrow morning- if that's okay?" Jane asked, rubbing her temples. Being a Reaper was emotionally draining, but it's what she had chosen to do. She had been in a shooting years ago in the Boston Police Department building that had taken almost 20 people- five people from her squad and her brother, Frankie.

"Okay Rizzoli, but under one condition- got it? Go home- don't go hang out in the graveyard okay? It's depressing. I'll have Frankie take this kid.."

"Lucas", Jane finished for him- handing over the folder on the kid.

"Yeah, go home and sleep" Cavanaugh chuckled, the dead didn't sleep. Even when they were alive Rizzoli never slept. It was like telling a stubborn toddler it was bath time.

Rizzoli flipped him the bird and winked, turning around to leave. She stopped to pat Lucas on the back and kiss his head. Soon he will be a Reaper like her- they needed more children in the business. He had been a joy to reap but some kids just didn't take well to adults telling them what to do- even after their lives were over. So, they tried to get children to talk to other kids- it just seemed to work better. Frost and Korsak were probably in the back arranging a room for him. He looked up at her and smiled. Good, he felt safe here. She rubbed his back again and turned to leave. She did have an idea on where to go.

* * *

Dr. Isles slipped off her latex gloves and just looked at the tiny body in front of her. She hoped with everything she had that this boy hadn't felt any pain, getting hit by a car was more than likely terrifying. She finished her notes and flipped off the tape recorder for this session. Her tools were already in the sanitizer and she only had to clean up her table before she went home. Something made her stop though. She set her hand on the arm of the cold boy and sighed- it was gonna take a long while to get over this one. But, she didn't trust anyone else in the morgue to handle him with the respect he deserved. Her hands rubbed comforting circles on the boy's skin- hopefully soothing his baby soul. She knew she was breaking policy, but she couldn't help but place a few timid kisses on his forehead. No one had come to identify the body- the state would only hold him for 30 days. If no one claimed him by then, Maura would have him buried in the plots she reserved for herself and a partner. Considering the brilliant doctor had been alone all of her life, she assumed that spot would go untouched forever. So, why not give it to someone deserving?

She moved him onto his shelf and bid him goodnight. Maura looked around nervously and began to sing him a lullaby:

"Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li,

Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Hush now don't you cry

Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li,

Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, That's an Irish lul-la-by"

Everyone needed to be sung to sleep at least once in their life, and Maura was just making sure that he had the experience even just once.

"Goodnight sweet baby Lucas, you'll find peace some day" Maura shut the door and went about wiping down her area. Little did she know that there was Jane Rizzoli, sobbing in the corner of the morgue knowing that little Lucas was loved and taken care of. The fact that this woman cared for the dead so earnest and wholly made Jane swoon. She needed to be careful, she could see herself falling in love with this beautiful and caring woman.

* * *

Jane spend the next few days trailing the M.E. She was surprised when she found that the woman truly cared for every single case she was handed. The sheer passion and innocence in which she talked to the dead- reassuring them that their families were okay, was heartbreaking and inspiring. Maura couldn't have known just how much she was affecting those souls in a positive way. Soon after Jane established a routine around the doctor, she realized that she had done the unthinkable- she had fallen in love with the living.

She decided that she needed to distance herself from the gorgeous woman so she did the next best thing- she went to the graveyard.

It was cold and dark- probably about 2 in the morning. She wandered up the rocky trail with her hands in her pockets and hood over her black waves. After taking the long ways to her spot, Jane finally made it her to favorite place to think: her very own grave. After a quick visual inspection she relaxed, her grave looked it always had: plain and unnoticed. The only people who usually visited were her mother and Rondo; but the homeless man only visited when he needed to confess to something he had done. Even after her death, Jane was still a point of solace for people. She sat on the tree near her grave and set her feet on the small cement slab. Frankie was buried next to her and Tommy was further down. But, Tommy had died years prior from drinking and driving- therefore he didn't get the opportunity to be a Reaper like her and Frankie had done. She was beginning to wonder if walking the Earth was as great as she had earlier anticipated all those years ago.

She still had her old gang: Frankie, Frost, Korsak, and Cavanaugh were some of the folks who didn't survive the siege. She honestly didn't know how any of them had died; it was an unwritten rule of sorts that you never talked about your death. Jane knew Frankie had died from taking a bullet while in a vest. Jane had shot herself to save the rest of BPD from being attacked by a dirty cop. The memories were blurry and faded over time but she still thought about it from time to time.

She needed a distraction from her moping. Dr. Isles popped into her mind. She really had fallen hard for this woman. Maura was a genuinely nice person- that other people just overlooked. It physically pained Jane that the doctor's kindness was frequently unnoticed. Jane would give anything in this world to just touch the soft skin of the blonde, or even just to be able to talk to her. But, this was the life that she chose and she needed to move on. She just sat at her plot until the sun was overhead. Finally, tired of her little pity session, Jane decided to go for a run. She looked down to see her in her running gear- which was really only for show because she didn't technically need any of it. Hell, she really didn't even need to breathe, but she did it anyways.

She stretched her non-existent muscles and started a light jog out of the cemetery and out around the lake. What she would give to feel water again- the cool burst against her hot skin was something she didn't even realize she longed for. She wove in between trees, only wishing she could throw leaves in the air again. She was weightless so she couldn't even hear them crunch beneath her. A few minutes later she burst onto a street and started to jog around the block. She saw families playing in the cool October afternoon and felt a yearning to do that. She'd never been the type to settle down but damn, she really missed living.

She stopped and looked around. Every house was decorated for Halloween. She missed the fun of that whole holiday. Nowadays, she only got called out twice as frequently on the day; people tended to be cruel during the night on Halloween. She spent another few hours walking around Boston until she felt the familiar pulling in her chest. She had a call, and it was apparently urgent. Normally she was just asked to come back to the office, but to be requested specifically- that either meant it was another fucking kid or it was too gruesome for Frost.

She knew to go a few miles to an apartment complex. So, Jane put on her game face and took off in a sprint. She didn't want the person's soul to die out before she got there. She jumped over dumpsters and homeless men trying to quicken her route before she remembered that she could literally walk through fucking buildings. "Come on Rizzoli" Jane thought to herself, she'd been doing this for almost a decade- she should know this basic stuff by now. She ran into traffic and up the four flights of stairs to studio roped off with the yellow crime scene tape. She ran through the door and into the dimly lit apartment. There were wine glasses on the table and a few sculptures decorating the place. The huddle of CSI's indicated that the body was in the shaft over in the corner, where the elevator was located. Jane peered over the edge and burst into tears.

There at the bottom of the dark shaft was Maura Isles, dead upon impact.

"No!" Jane said, did she really jump? She would go straight into the afterlife with no chance to choose her future. Why did she get called here for a jumper? She put a hand over her mouth to muffle the sobs that no one could actually hear. The sight of the woman she loved at the bottom of that put broke Jane's heart into pieces.

"Man it's a damn shame, she was a great M.E. That's what happens when you date crazy men, they throw you down a fucking elevator" one of the uniforms said to his buddy, shaking his head at the scene.

Jane gasped, had Maura been pushed? She needed to know. She jumped into the shaft and knelt down next to the gorgeous blonde. Jane put her hands on the soft skin of the doctor and shivered at the feel of it. All of the years she had under her belt couldn't prepare her for the sight in front of her. All the information and experience she had cataloged in her brain just fled. Her hands shook as she grabbed the broken fingers and whispered her name.

"Maura- Maura baby, honey? Can y-you open your eyes please? I need you to wake up. I need you to wake up for me okay? You are safe and loved, please" Jane pleaded towards the heavens for the blonde to wake. Jane placed kisses on her blonde hair and tried to jostle Maura awake. Her cries became almost feral when there was still no movement from the woman.

"Damnit Maura Isles, I fucking love you and you had better wa-"

"hmm?" Maura's eyes started to move under her lids and Jane let loose a victorious cry. She continued to rub the soft skin of the blonde, never wanting to stop. When her beautiful hazel eyes opened Jane exhaled a huge sigh of relief. She tugged on Maura's hand, eventually guiding her into a standing position.

"Who are you? Where am I?" Maura asked, jumping when she saw her broken and battered body next to her.

"I'm Jane Rizzoli, I'm your Reaper" Jane said sadly, she'd given this speech a few thousand times.

"Yo-you're Jane? There's a picture of you in the BPD lobby. You saved hundreds of people, you're a hero? I have to be dreaming- this isn't real" Maura closed her eyes and counted to ten. When she opened them, Jane was still standing there smiling sadly. Maura looked down once more and saw her body and suddenly she understood and accepted her fate.

Maura slowly looked towards Jane and grabbed onto her hand.

"What's going to happen to me? Am I going to be a Reaper too?" Maura asked quietly, looking quite vulnerable.

"Well, you say I've saved hundreds of people but, do you realize how many souls you've comforted during their passing? Each one of them heard what you had to say about them, and it it truly touched them all" Jane smiled down at the nervous blonde. Her expression turned to one of amazement as she realized that all her work was validated- purposeful even. Tears welled up in her eyes as she asked:

"Even Lucas? Did he hear me? Oh gosh I would love to see him if I could?" Maura's voice was nervous as she never realized meeting the dead was even possible.

"Yeah, you can. He's at home waiting for you, actually. Well, he's at home- he doesn't really know who you are. But as soon as he hears your voice, he'll know." Jane led them through the building and down the stairs.

When they go out onto the street, Jane explained to her what she did as a Reaper. Basically, she was an usher for souls. Maura seemed to accept this fate so long as she could see the child she loved as her own son. When they arrived at the building, Maura stopped them for a moment.

"Jane, did you really mean it though?"

"Did I mean what? Yeah, I really reap so-"

"No, do you really love me?" Maura whispered, turning red as she said those words out loud.

Jane blushed furiously and nodded, eyes downcast. She had forgotten that Maura could hear what she said to her.

"Yeah Maur, I do. I know it sounds bad, but I fell for you when I saw you talk to Lucas, Maura. You truly spoke for the dead and did whatever you could to pacify them. A soul like yours only comes around once in a lifetime, and I never thought that I would ever get to meet you" Jane admitted shyly.

Maura blushed and kissed Jane's cheek lightly, giggling when Jane managed to turn almost purple at the attention.

She lead them into the building, Maura stumbling slightly at the act of defying every scientific rule she knew. Immediately she spotted Lucas playing with a man in the corner of the building. Cavanaugh was his desk, smiling like the Chesire Cat. He knew that Maura had passed and correctly assumed Jane was the one for the job.

Silent tears trickled down Maura's face and she looked hopefully at Jane, who just nodded towards the small boy. Slowly Maura knelt down next to him and rubbed comforting circles on his back.

"Lucas? Do you remember me?" Maura said softly as the boy's eyes widened in recognition. He jumped up and hugged her neck, rubbing his cold nose into her dress. She burst into tears and she scooped up the boy, who seemed content to be in her grasp., She looked the lanky detective and realized that she had spent her entire life wishing a longing for a life she would not have until after life was over. `


End file.
